In an effort to make its Police Department more reflective of the population that it is serving, the City of Garden Grove is embarking on a public relation campaign to recruit more ethnic minority officers.  That and it would help the investigative work if they can actually communicate with the witnesses.

As of the last 2000 Census, Garden Grove's population is dominated by three groups: White, Hispanics, and Vietnamese, with the latter making up 57,000 of the total 172,000 residents.

For those that are not familiar with the Vietnamese-American community, becoming a police officer isn't exactly something that is encouraged by the family.  In fact, it is not a respected career when compared to other professions like being a doctor, lawyer, engineer, professor, politician, etc...And this is one of the main reasons for the low recruitment and retention of Vietnamese police cadets.

To combat this negative perception, Garden Grove is trying to promote law enforcement as a highly respected and lucrative career.  For example, they are offering potential cadets free health insurance and a generous wage of $24.50 an hour just to go through the academy.  Cadets are will also be informed of the 3 @ 50 retirement package and flexible work hour.  A rookie officer can start making $4,896 a month, and is entitled to an extra 5% if he or she is fluent in another language, like Vietnamese or Spanish.

So for those young Red County readers out there that are Vietnamese, maybe you can give the City of Garden Grove Police Department a call.